"We're not strictly a slam band," asserts guitarist Sean Hynes. "We incorporate slams in our music, but we're mainly a death metal band. Much like Dying Fetus, you've got the technical fast bits, but they want to break it up with groove and that's exactly what we like to do. When you're talking slam bands, they're going to do four minutes of four riffs, and I'm not about that."

His axe counterpart Sam Yates continues, "It's more of an instrument, more of a tool for us to write, rather than an overall encompassing mantra, if you will. These bands that are just like [makes gurgle noises], just toilet noises, it just doesn't interest us at all."

The U.K. crew opt to focus on writing songs, rather than pandering to any one subgenre — with more parts from all different heavy sounds. Yates admits, "We just want it [the new album] to be extreme metal's greatest hits in a band" — making them harder to pigeonhole.

Ingested get great joy from the conflicting feelings their lack of a set sound causes critics on YouTube, who struggle to admit they like a part that could be labelled deathcore.

"At the end of the day we always have this realization," continues Yates, "that we are nearly 30-year-old men making monster noises, playing as fast as possible and people are saying, 'Oh, well it's not a breakdown.' It's a slow part in a song, get over yourselves!"

The band themselves were humbled by the grotesque lyrics they got away with early in their career. Drummer Lyn Jeffs recalls a conversation with a fill-in vocalist, during which the latter expressed disbelief at what they were able to say. The members opined then — and here — that it wouldn't be permissible in this day and age.

However, even if it would be widely accepted, Ingested moved beyond that as they matured beyond their teenage "let's just say the grossest shit" minds, so their songs will often be more ambiguous in meaning.

When they do a more straight-ahead death metal song and are questioned by friends, family or others, Yates says, "Well you'll watch a fucking horror movie; you'll watch Hostel and sit there and be like, 'Haha, gore's so funny,' but as soon as it's put into music...," Jeffs cuts in, "...it's like a message now."

Hynes assures, "It's definitely not a message," before questioning, "Or is it worse because you're leaving it to your imagination?"

Ingested also discuss getting what might be ex-Suffocation vocalist Frank Mullen's last recorded vocal spot on "Sovereign," as well as how their writing process matured when they learned to be open to repetition, more consistent tempos and had greater consideration for how the songs would be played live.